Citing sources and police, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper has reported Tinnemeyer may have stolen millions from a Mexican drug cartel, although police have not said what role he may have played in the drug operation or whether the child's abductors were seeking a ransom. Officer Cris Johnson told the newspaper authorities believe methamphetamine was involved.

"The remainder of the investigation now shifts, the focus now goes on to the drug dealing and potential extortion," Cannito of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Sunday.

Before his arrest, police said Tinnemeyer was involved in "significant drug dealing" involving millions of dollars.